Aroma of Christ

I've bee thinking about putting together a short series of posts for a few weeks. In fact, I wrote the introduction for a series on Sunday, published it, and then deleted it. Earlier this evening, I had a few minutes to glance back through some of my scribbles in Eugene Peterson's The Message// Remix: Pause. A few passages stood out. Ironically, these were particularly relevant to about 50% of the original plan for a series.

I continue to work through David Kinnaman's book, unChristian. To be quite honest, it has left me in a bit of funk. Note, funk has several definitions. See http://www.m-w.com/. One of the definitions is "a strong offensive smell." While this is not specifically the type of funk that I am experiencing, it kinds of adds to the overall funkiness of the last few days. I have thought about the times that I have been unChristian towards other people. I think about the times that I still am unChristian towards other people. This is like being an offensive odor that makes people turn their heads and gasp for air. (I have been known to share some literally offensive odor from time to time as well, but fortunately, this usually ends being a bit more humorous than not.)

Rather than being offensive odors, we are called to be the aroma of Christ. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15, The Message).

However, we are not just called to be the aroma of Christ. Check out some of these other descriptions from the Message.

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." (Matthew 5:13)

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world." (Matthew 5:14)

Wow, my senses are tingling.

So, in the next of couple posts, you will meet a few special people. These people, in their own everyday lives, are the aroma, seasoning, and light that provide a bridge to God's presence.